


Conversations

by Cait_Sidhe



Series: The Accidental Vampire [10]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Arguing, Biting, Dark Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Dialogue Heavy, Dream Eater Link (Kingdom Hearts), Dream Eater Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Human/Vampire Relationship, Immortality, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Blood, Not Canon Compliant - Kingdom Hearts III, POV Riku (Kingdom Hearts), POV Sora (Kingdom Hearts), POV Third Person Limited, Vampire Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28723668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe
Summary: Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, and Riku return to the Mysterious Tower after the mission to Monstropolis, where Sora's vampiric rage-form had been unleashed upon Vanitas, to report to Yen Sid everything that happened—which becomes awkward when the wizard then presses them about howspecificallyRiku managed to get Sora out of that form.Later, Mickey confronts Sora about multiple reports that Donald has been mistreating him and Goofy—causing Sora to remember something from long in his past.Also, everyone learns that both Sora and Riku are immortal and speculate about what that means.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: The Accidental Vampire [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777057
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> I know, it's been months since a new entry in this series; I apologize. Anyway, this entry was going to be the first section of a larger one, but then it grew too much (over 7k words somehow?) so I decided to split them since this part has been finished for a while.
> 
> It's basically a transitory one, in the form of various conversations (so, not much action other than some angsty yelling, mostly on Sora's part). Included is a debriefing at Yen Sid's of the previous fic's adventure (that probably should have been at the end of the last fic); Mickey confronting Sora about Donald's treatment of him and Goofy after reports from others about it; people learning that Sora and Riku are immortal and what that means; and Xehanort having another meeting. There's less vampire stuff than the other fics in this series but it's necessary to move the series along (I tried to fit these things in elsewhere but they just refused to no matter how hard I tried, which is one reason why it took so long to get something posted).

Yen Sid frowned deeply as the group entered the room, a rare expression to see on his usually stoic face, especially before anyone explained anything. Sora shifted uncomfortably; Did Yen Sid already know what happened? Riku had disappeared from training with Aqua to save Sora, after all. Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Riku (who originally had not been with them) had just returned from their mission to Monstropolis, where they had met a being of darkness called Vanitas. During the interaction, Sora had accidentally gone into rage-form (again! He hated doing that. Why did he do that so much? He’d been working on controlling the darkness, yet it seemed to be to no avail, despite both Riku and Aqua having said he’d made progress! They were Masters, so they should know, right? But it didn’t feel that way). Rage-form sucked darkness to extend itself, so obviously consuming a being of darkness (hopefully not to death; so far Sora had avoided killing people—Vanitas had been very weak when he’d escaped, but alive, according to his comrades, who had no reason to lie) led to it going extremely out of control. Riku had to step in, reaching them via a dark portal, of all things (which made Sora feel a mixture of good and bad: good because Riku cared so much he risked creating one and going through without a cloak for Sora, showing how much he loved him; bad for that very same reason, as it was such a massive risk, and Sora didn’t feel he was worth it even though Riku had assured him multiple times that he was).

Riku grabbed Sora’s hand and whispered gently to him, “It’ll be alright.”

“Will it though?” Sora whispered back dejectedly.

“Sora,” Yen Sid said firmly, as everyone had lined up and seemed ready to make the report. “Why are your eyes bright gold?” Ah, so that’s what the frown had been for.

Sora looked down and nibbled his lip despite the fangs. “I accidentally went into rage-form again,” he muttered, barely audible.

“Sora, please speak up and talk to me, not the floor,” Yen Sid chided.

“I accidentally went into rage-form again,” Sora repeated, raising his head but not looking at the wizard.

“And your eyes have been this way since? Sora, you must stop using that form. It is dark. It is dangerous if you keep it up.”

“I know,” Sora said meekly. And, he did know; it wasn’t like he enjoyed going into it (well, in the moment he did, thanks to the vampire instincts loving it, but when not in the form he hated it and tried to withstand going into it). He didn’t want to be dark, but… 

“It’s not something he can always control!” Riku yelled, bristling. Sora looked over at him, surprised he’d get so angry he’d yell at Yen Sid (at least, for Sora’s sake, even though technically he’d yelled at Yen Sid before in Sora’s defense—Sora hadn’t fully believed it though, having not been present there himself).

Yen Sid, who had returned to a stoic demeanor, raised his eyebrows slightly, although otherwise ignored the tone of the outburst. “Then Sora needs more practice. It was my understanding you have been helping him work on that, correct?"

Riku cringed slightly (Sora tried not to blush; they had been, but the training sessions had become makeout and blood-drinking sessions more often than they should have. But, it wasn’t Sora’s fault Riku was so hot!). “Yeah, I am, but it takes time,” the silverette explained, voice more normal, although there was still a slight tension in his voice. “Plus, even when he is able to maintain better control, there’s going to still be times he slips into it.”

Donald pitched in in defense of Sora (to Sora’s surprise; he’d hurt Donald during the incident, after all, so expected him to be angrier). “It wasn’t even all his fault! Ventus got angry too, which is what made it bad enough to trigger!” Oh. Had that happened? Sora hadn't realized (it did make sense though, as Roxas had been able to influence Sora's emotions in the past, feeling angry at Organization members; it wasn't a far stretch that if he could, so could Ventus and whoever the third person was).

“Yeah,” Goofy confirmed, then explained further, “Ventus is one of the people in Sora’s heart. We encountered Vanitas there, who he doesn’t like. He’s the one who told us Ventus was in Sora.” (Sora tried not to chuckle at that; ‘doesn’t like’ was an understatement, or so Sora assumed—Vanitas had tried to kill the boy, after all).

Yen Sid frowned slightly. “Perhaps a full mission report is necessary before we begin. Kairi, would you like to begin?”

“Huh?” Kairi said; apparently she hadn’t been paying much attention. “Oh, right, mission report. Um, well…”

The group explained in full what had occurred (well, mostly; Sora and Riku left out the part about specifically how Riku calmed him and what they’d done afterwards, as Sora had insisted that, before returning to the group, they find out what their genitalia looked like in monster form, then proceeded to use them. It was strange, but good; Sora wondered if that meant he had some sort of monster fetish, like Riku definitely had. Wait. Bad idea to be thinking about that while giving a report; the last thing Sora needed was to get a boner right now).

Yen Sid unfortunately noticed that not everything had been said.

“Riku, what strategy did you use to bring Sora out of that form?” the elderly wizard questioned.

Riku clearly tried not to blush (Sora wondered if that was obvious to everyone, or just Sora). “That’s not important,” he stated, avoiding eye contact.

“On the contrary,” the wizard argued. “We must know, for there will be times you won’t be so readily available. It is best to avoid using those dark portals too much.” (Sora felt a little put-out by that, as it indicated Yen Sid probably expected it to remain a frequent occurrence, not trusting Sora being able to control it at all).

Riku actually did blush. “I’d rather not talk about it,” he admitted.

Yen Sid turned to Sora. “Sora, as Riku is being obstinate, perhaps you could share what happened that pulled you out of that form?”

“Um. It just faded naturally?” Sora tried.

“Sora, do not lie to me. Earlier you stated that Riku brought you down from it. How?”

Sora looked away and shifted uncomfortably. How should he phrase this? “It’s… not something I’m comfortable with other people doing,” he settled on, hoping that’d be enough (it was embarrassing, admitting that being cuddled and pet like a cat had been what soothed him! Also he didn't want anyone but Riku doing that to him).

“Sometimes we must endure uncomfortable things, especially if it can prevent harm to oneself and others,” Yen Sid pointed out, clearly not catching on.

Sora was sure his face was fully red now. He’d have to be more specific. “I don’t want other people… I don’t want them to… to touch me like that,” he said, voice lowering to the point it was nearly inaudible at the end.

So low that no one caught it but Riku, who was standing next to him, holding his hand.

“Sora, you must speak up,” Yen Sid chided.

“Yeah, speak up!” Donald squawked, smacking Sora on the head with his staff as usual. 

Sora ignored that and leaned into Riku slightly, looking everywhere but at Yen Sid. Riku, after glaring at Donald (and looking like he was resisting hitting the duck), tried comforting Sora, saying “You don’t have to say anything if you don't want to.”

Yen Sid frowned deeper. “Riku, that is not your decision. Did you do something dangerous? Darkness related, perhaps?” Oh. So the wizard still didn’t realize what Sora had been trying to imply, thinking it was something dangerous, not intimate (well, maybe it was initially a bit dangerous for Riku, but not how Yen Sid thought).

“It’s not dangerous,” Sora clarified. “It’s just… I think it’s something only Riku can do. Involving the dream-eater link,” he said, realizing that he only needed to say that, not the petting part. It was true, after all, even if not the full story: Riku had sent comforting feelings through it, or so he’d told Sora. Sora barely remembered that part though. “So none of you can do it.”

“I see,” Yen Sid said after a pause, accepting that (did he? Sora wasn’t sure; at least he wasn’t pressing further… actually, no, he undoubtedly realized that if it were just the link Sora wouldn’t have been so sheepish about saying something, so decided to drop it. Hopefully the wizard wouldn’t bring it up again later). “In that case, it is prudent that we discern a different way to remove that cloak of darkness when it appears. That will be researched later today. For now, we ought to discuss the other important discoveries that were made: the return of Vanitas, who clearly must be working with Xehanort, and the fact that Ventus is in Sora’s heart. That must be remedied, especially as we do not wish for Ventus to be corrupted by darkness.” (Sora tried not to scoff; of course Yen Sid would be all for figuring out how to remove the hearts in him now that he knew Ventus was one. The wizard hadn’t cared so much, if at all, when the only one they knew about had been Roxas. Sora didn’t appreciate the comment about darkness, either).

“But how?” Kairi asked. “Should we move him to a replica, like with the other three?”

Yen Sid shook his head slightly. “No; Aqua knows where Ventus’s body is. She can retrieve him. Sora, the Power of Waking should be able to wake Ventus and then return his heart.”

Sora frowned. “But he is awake. I can feel him. He reacted when Vanitas showed up, and I'm pretty sure he’s the reason I feel so calm around Aqua and got so excited when I first met her even though I didn’t know her.”

“Still, the Power of Waking is important, and will allow you to move his heart in any case. It is highly unfortunate that you have not awakened the ability yet.”

“Wait,” Riku interrupted, looking somewhat annoyed but his voice was calm. “Can’t Ienzo do that? They have to move the hearts to the replicas, after all. So why can’t he move a heart to a non-replica body, too?”

Yen Sid paused. “I had not thought of that,” he admitted after a moment. “We can consult with Ienzo on that matter.”

Sora’s eyes lit up. “So, if he can, I won’t need to find the Power of Waking!” he declared.

Yen Sid replied, “Even if unneeded to return Ventus to his body, it is still an important ability to have. Your mission is still to search for it. Understand?”

Sora wilted slightly. “Yes, I understand,” he said, even though he didn’t. Why keep trying for something he’d never get and probably wouldn’t need now? 

“Now, to the topic of Vanitas,” Yen Sid said, effectively closing the previous discussions. “We suspected it before, but we now know that he is indeed alive. Although he did not remove his mask, we can also surmise that he is the one that looks like Sora. I suspect that would be due to the influence of Ventus’s heart within Sora, as the two are connected. Vanitas had no form prior, but when Ventus touched your heart, Sora, Vanitas was affected by it too, giving him that form.”

“Really?” Sora asked. It sounded complicated… or, maybe not. Hearts could influence each other, so it made sense that they could influence bodies, too—the replica bodies morphed based on the heart in them, after all.

“I cannot be fully certain, but that is my best theory given our current knowledge,” the wizard confirmed. “Now, that aside, we must confirm if he is still with Xehanort, or if he truly has run away. He has been extremely loyal to Xehanort in the past, so I suspect he has only taken a break.”

Kairi nodded. “That makes sense. He mentioned something about the scream energy there making him stronger. Maybe he decided to power-up, but forgot to tell Xehanort.”

“Yes, my thinking exactly,” Yen Sid agreed.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Sora mused. For reasons he wasn’t sure of, Sora thought (hoped?) that Vanitas truly had run away (was that Ventus’s feeling? Did Ventus feel something other than hate for the guy? Wait, if Ventus was pure light, could he even feel true hate?).

“You never think,” Donald quipped, clearly joking, so Sora laughed along (even though it hurt). Riku frowned at the interaction, but didn’t have a chance to say anything.

“Gawrsh, do you think this means they have all their Seekers of Darkness now?” Goofy commented.

“It is possible,” Yen Sid said. “Perhaps the final battle will be upon us soon. However, I am sure he will let us know when they are ready. Be ready for that moment, but for the time being continue as you have been doing. Now, that is all we have to talk about; Kairi, Donald, Goofy, you are dismissed. Sora, Riku, I would like to speak to you on another matter.”

Kairi, Donald, and Goofy filed out of the room, and Sora and Riku waited for Yen Sid to speak.

“I have noticed something rather odd,” Yen Sid finally said. “You two have been healing faster than is usual, coming back with less wounds after training and are not as tired. I highly doubt you have improved that much in such a short time period, especially when sparring with Aqua, and your cure magic certainly is not at that high a level. Plus, Sora, the scar you received from that shark, although it should be permanent, has nearly vanished. I hope you two are not using darkness to enhance healing; you do realize that is extremely dangerous, correct?”

Sora and Riku glanced at each other. No, they weren’t using darkness… but he still probably wouldn’t be super happy with them (even though Sora thought it was a good thing).

“We… aren’t using darkness,” Sora explained sheepishly. Might as well, as the cat was mostly out of the bag already.

“We don’t even have anywhere near that level of control over it,” Riku added.

Yen Sid said nothing, rather simply waited for the boys to continue.

Sora did after a pause, quickly saying in a single breath, “Riku drank ambrosia. The effects aren’t as strong, but it affects me too when I drink his blood.”

“Sora, please speak slower,” Yen Sid told him.

Sora took a deep breath, then repeated it slower.

Yen Sid stared at the boys, taking a moment to process that. “Ambrosia. Where would you have obtained such?”

The boys were silent; Riku paled slightly, and Sora was sure he had too.

“Riku, Sora, please explain where you obtained such,” Yen Sid requested again.

“...Hades gave it to us,” Riku admitted abashedly.

“Hades,” Yen Sid said blankly. “You accepted ambrosia from a known enemy, and drank it?” He seemed… shocked? Sora hadn’t seen him look quite so rattled before.

“We… made a deal with him,” Riku explained. “He gave us a map to the Fountain of Knowledge, and in exchange if it confirmed Sora was immortal, I had to drink the ambrosia. But it probably was irrelevant anyway, because my dream-eater thing, according to him, means I die when Sora does, and Sora is immortal because of the vampire thing. We mostly just wanted to make sure aging wouldn't be an issue, because it would be very awkward if I ended up looking elderly someday while Sora remains looking like a teen, which he will.”

Yen Sid was quiet for a moment. “I see,” he finally said. “So in summary, you two are both immortal, will not age, and have enhanced healing abilities due to the ambrosia.” The two boys nodded. “Is that all the effects?” the wizard double-checked.

“Yeah,” Sora confirmed. “As far as we know… oh, wait, Riku’s blood also has gold specks now, but that’s not really sign-iffy-cant.”

“Significant,” RIiku corrected.

Yen Sid ignored the small exchange. “I see. Well, then, you are dismissed,” the wizard said, an odd expression on his face that Sora couldn’t place. Sora got the feeling that Yen Sid needed a moment or ten to process the revelation that there were now two eternally teenage keyblade wielders.

The two boys exited Yen Sid’s study and descended the stairs, heading to their room (Sora hoping he’d be able to have a little snack). As they reached the corridor of rooms, Mickey appeared from the opposite direction.

“Oh, Sora, you’re just who I wanted to see!” Mickey proclaimed, to Sora’s annoyance (he wanted some alone time with Riku!).

“Me?” Sora asked, perplexed at why the mouse would want to talk to him. Usually Riku was the one Mickey sought out. 

“Yup. I need to talk to you about something. Alone, if possible.” Mickey looked serious. Sora turned to look at Riku, silently asking if he knew what this was about, and Riku just shrugged slightly, looking equally confused.

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Sora replied. 

“I’ll be having lunch with Kairi in the kitchen when you’re done,” Riku said. “Unless you want me there…?”

“No, I think it’d be better if it were just Sora and I,” Mickey said.

Riku looked at Sora, silently asking if that was okay, and Sora replied with an eyeroll. “I’ll be fine, Riku, stop being a worrywort,” he said, although Sora was a bit worried too. Adults asking to speak in private never was a good thing.

“Okay. See you soon,” Riku bid farewell and headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

“What’s this about?” Sora asked as Mickey led him into a conveniently-nearby conference room that definitely hadn’t been there moments before. Sora wondered if Mickey had asked the Tower for a room or if it just knew.

Mickey gestured to Sora to sit down at the small table in the room, which could seat maybe eight people if that. Sora wondered how many conference rooms the Tower had, or if there were really just a few that it changed up.

“What’s this about?” Sora asked again when they were both seated. “Is it about Riku? Since you didn’t want him here?” Sora ventured.

“No, this has nothing to do with Riku,” Mickey said, then sighed. “I need you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that, Sora?”

Sora nodded, wide-eyed; he’d never seen the mouse look so serious. “Y-yeah. Sure.” Sora didn’t have any secrets to keep from the mouse. 

“I need you to describe how Donald treats you,” Mickey said, straightforward. “Goofy, too.”

Sora blinked. “W-what do you mean?” he asked nervously. Okay, maybe he did have things he didn’t want to talk to the mouse about after all.

“It has been brought to my attention that the way he treats people may not be fitting for someone in his position,” Mickey said, sounding like he was wording things very carefully, showing his diplomatic side. “As he is my direct subordinate, it falls to me to investigate this. As you and Goofy have the most interaction with him, I have chosen to speak to you first. I need you to be honest with me, Sora.”

“You talked to Goofy already?” Sora asked. If Mickey had, shouldn’t he know?

“No, not yet,” Mickey admitted. “Goofy… well… let’s just say sometimes it’s hard to get the full picture from him,” Mickey stated. “So I wanted to hear directly from you, first.”

Sora narrowed his eyes, recalling the other thing Mickey had said. “You said it was brought to your attention? Who said something? Was it Riku? Was this why you didn’t want him here?” Sora knew Riku didn’t like Donald much, but would Riku really go behind Sora’s back and report what he had witnessed? 

“Sora, you’re awfully defensive,” Mickey pointed out, then said gently, “Please, tell me what’s been going on. I’ve heard that he’s been hurting you and Goofy.”

“Nothing’s going on,” Sora defended. “Everything’s fine.” Sora, despite what many people said, wasn’t stupid. He knew that if Mickey got confirmation that Donald often hit him and Goofy out of anger or annoyance, Donald would probably be sent away, or not be permitted to travel with them. But even if he got violent sometimes, Donald was still Sora’s friend (even a father-figure to some extent). Sora liked travelling with him overall.

“Sora, multiple people have reported it, many who have directly witnessed it,” Mickey said, a little more firmly but still with a gentle, caring note. “You said you’d be honest with me.”

“Multiple people?” Sora asked, suddenly feeling slightly faint. Who? Riku and Aqua probably. Kairi? Lea? Jiminy? Was it some sort of big conspiracy? It wasn’t that bad… was it? Just the occasional bonk on the head (and there were insults and stuff too, but they were just jokes or exaggerations, Donald never actually meant any of it for real—hence why Sora always laughed at them, pretending they didn’t hurt, as they weren’t meant to… right?). 

“Yes.” Mickey took out a notebook and a pen, flipping it open. “I have a series of questions here. Again, I need you to be honest.”

A series of questions? Why was he treating this so seriously? It wasn’t that bad, really. Yet Mickey was treating it as some sort of serious investigation… Sora wondered if Mickey usually would be the one investigating, or if this would usually fall to police officers. Sora was suddenly reminded of something that had happened when he was a little kid, something he’d put out of his mind for ages: police had come to talk to him about his father, and then had sent his father away. Would that happen to Donald? No, Sora wouldn’t let that happen!

“Sora?” Mickey prodded.

Sora shook his head. “Nothings wrong, okay? He treats me fine. Everything’s perfect,” Sora insisted as he quickly stood up, dashing out the door before the mouse could say anything more.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

“So, what did Yen Sid want to talk to you about?” Kairi inquired later, as Riku and she ate lunch while Sora, clearly hungry too by how he was staring at Riku’s neck, resisted biting him out of decorum given Kairi’s presence. “You’re not keeping secrets from me again, are you?”

Riku quickly shook his head (he and Sora had both learned that having secrets from her was not a great idea at all). “No, he was concerned we were using darkness too extensively,” Riku explained. “He noticed we were healing extra fast and our scars that should be permanent have been slowly healing, so assumed we were enhancing our healing abilities with darkness, which is super dangerous. But it’s actually because of the ambrosia.”

“You, Merlin, and Mickey were the only ones who knew about that until today,” Sora divulged to Kairi. “I think Yen Sid might have gone into shock—‘immortal supernatural teenagers’ was probably the last thing he ever expected to deal with,” Sora joked (Riku had to agree; it was certainly an unusual situation, to put it mildly).

“Whoa whoa whoa. Did you just say immortal?” Lea asked from the doorway of the kitchen, mouth agape.

“Supernatural?” Aqua, who had arrived with Lea, asked, confused.

“Well, yeah. I’m a vampire, Riku’s a dream-eater,” Sora said simply. “Neither of those are human.”

“Wait, you’re skipping the whole ‘immortal’ thing,” Lea pointed out.

Sora shrugged. “Hey, I’m a vampire, what did you expect?”

“Well, you’re only partially one; somehow it didn’t occur to me you might have gotten that, too… but, wait, how do you even know that? And you said two.”

Thus, Riku and Sora spent the rest of lunch explaining to Lea and Aqua all about how they’d discovered Sora was immortal and why Riku was too.

Then Lea pointed out something Riku, and probably Sora too from the brunette’s expression, hadn’t thought about: if they never aged, did that mean they’d never mature, either? The human brain didn’t stop developing until well into peoples’ 20s, after all. Riku wasn’t sure what he thought about that. He was well aware that teenagers could be reckless and angsty and whatnot, which was something most people grew out of (and Riku and Sora definitely hadn't yet, Riku reluctantly had to admit). But if their brains were stuck at that stage of development… well, no wonder Yen Sid seemed to be struggling with the idea of it. Riku had assumed the only issue would be more frequently updating licenses and things compared to if they had stopped at an older age; he hadn’t considered that lack of aging would also affect non-aesthetic things like brain chemistry and personality (Wait. Did this also mean they'd forever be treated as children by the adults, despite calendar age?).

After lunch, everyone split up to do various things. Sora tugged on Riku’s hand to lead him somewhere, looking… angry? Not hungry? Riku hadn’t said or done anything to get Sora mad, had he? 

The two ended up in their shared room, upon which Sora slammed the door then crossed his arms and glared at Riku. “You talked to Mickey about me,” Sora accused.

Riku froze. Oh. That’s why Mickey had pulled Sora aside earlier; Riku should have realized that would happen when he reported it. Right, how to go about this… 

“Why? Why would you do that?” Sora continued, strained upset mixed with anger. “I told you, things are fine! Why is everyone making such a big deal of it?!”

Riku felt a flare of anger at that. “Because it is a big deal! He whacks you and Goofy with a wooden staff regularly, for stupid little things you can’t help like inattention! That’s abuse, Sora!”

“It is not!” Sora protested. “It’s not usually that hard, and if it is, there’s cure magic! And now I heal fast so it’s fine. He’s nice otherwise; he just loses his temper a lot.”

“Wait. Did you just say it needs cure magic sometimes?” Riku said quietly. He hadn’t realized it was that bad.

Sora froze, realizing the slip. “N-no, I just meant IF it is. It hasn’t been. And I’m sure it won’t be!”

“You’re lying,” Riku accused, crossing his arms too (Why was Sorta being so obstinate about this? Didn't he want Donald to stop?). 

“No I’m not!” Sora yelled.

“Sora, I can feel your emotions,” Riku said, trying to be calm. “Remember? The link? Plus, I’ve known you our whole lives. You’re definitely lying.”

Sora seemed to wilt as he looked down at the floor and dropped his arms. “Please don’t tell,” Sora said quietly, blinking back the tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

“Sora, I can’t just ignore this,” Riku said firmly.

Sora looked up, eyes full of panic. “No! If you do, they’ll send him away, and won’t ever let me see him again, just like… just like…” Sora’s eyes began to well up with more tears, but Sora quickly wiped them away.

Suddenly, Riku realized what this was about and why Sora was reacting so strongly. “Sora, I don’t think Mickey would do that,” Riku said gently, stepping up to the boy and putting a hand on his shoulder. “He’ll talk to Donald, and might stop sending you on missions together, but they won’t bar you from seeing him, I’m sure of it.”

Sora’s lip trembled. “But I like going on missions with him.”

“Then maybe they’ll allow it if someone’s with you,” Riku reasoned, although he wasn’t sure of that. “I’m sure if Aqua, Mickey, or I went along, it’d be better.”

“Maybe… but what if they do send him away?” Sora wondered again quietly, gazing at a random point on the wall.

“It’s not the same situation,” Riku told Sora. “It really isn’t. You know that.”

“But they’re treating it the same,” Sora said meekly, looking at his feet again. “Mickey was asking questions, and they sounded similar to what the police asked me… he’s probably mad at me, since I ran off before answering…”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “You ran off?”

Sora looked up at Riku and nodded. “Yeah. I panicked. I told him everything was fine…” Sora blushed, looking sheepish, and chuckled nervously. “Well, yelled it actually. Probably was obvious that I was lying about that.”

Riku chuckled too. “Yeah, probably. We should go clear that up, hm?” he suggested.

Sora flopped forwards into Riku’s arms. “Yeah, probably,” he said, sounding tired. “Why’d you have to tell him?” Sora asked with a slight whine (Riku was immensely glad Sora's anger had abated; he hated when Sora was mad at him, and had been worried the brunette would remain so for a while).

“Because I don’t want you to keep getting hurt,” Riku told Sora gently. “Aqua suggested I speak up, after seeing what happened. I think she said something to Mickey, too.”

“Yeah, I think some of the others did too; Mickey said there were multiple people who reported it… hey, can I have a snack?” Sora asked, glancing up at Riku, then eyeing his neck—a clear attempt to change the subject.

Riku chucked fondly, allowing Sora to switch topics, and answered, “Always.”

Only seconds after Sora bit firmly into Riku’s neck, eliciting a soft gasp from him, there was a knock at the door.

Sora unlatched his fangs. “Seriously?” he grumbled, turning to the door and opening it wide before Riku could warn him of the dribble of blood dripping down his chin.

“Hey there!” greeted Mickey jovially. “Um, is this a bad time?” he then asked, eyes darting between Sora’s chin and Riku’s bleeding neck.

Riku blushed. It kinda was, but they needed to talk to Mickey anyway… Riku quickly used a cure spell on his neck, wiping away the blood with a sleeve.

“No, it’s fine,” Sora said with a sigh as he rubbed the blood off his chin with the back of his glove. “I need to apologize for earlier anyway.”

“Oh, it’s all good!” Mickey assured him. “I kinda sprung that on ya; it’s no wonder you got defensive!”

“Really?” Sora asked skeptically.

“Yup! So, are you more prepared to speak about it now, or do you need some time?” Mickey's voice grew more serious as he said, “Be aware that if you refuse to talk about it, I’ll need to speak to others more in-depth to get the full picture. This isn’t something that can be ignored; and please don’t try to claim that nothing’s been going on, because again, multiple eyewitness reports do say otherwise.”

Sora sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I know. It’s just…” Sora trailed off, seeming unsure of what to say.

Riku sat down next to Sora, putting his arm around the brunette’s shoulders, and Mickey sat on the couch. 

“Can Riku stay?” Sora asked quietly. “Earlier you said you wanted to talk alone, but I’d really be more comfortable with Riku here…”

“Of course,” Mickey said kindly. 

“And can you promise you won’t stop Donald from going on missions with me?”

“That… I can’t promise,” Mickey said reluctantly. 

Riku caught Sora’s expression and quickly assured him, “I doubt it’s bad enough they’ll have you cut off contact completely, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“But—” Sora began.

“The situations are nothing alike,” Riku said confidently. “Well, maybe a little,” he amended, “but this isn’t the same degree, I’m sure.”

“Really?” Sora asked. “I don’t remember it much…”

Mickey looked between the two boys, frowning. “Is there something else going on?” he asked, sounding concerned.

“It’s not recent,” Riku assured Mickey. “It’s just…” Riku looked at Sora, unsure how much was okay to say.

“Something similar happened before, about a decade ago,” Sora admitted. “I was too young to remember all the details, but when I was really little the police came and asked me similar questions about my dad, about how he treated me and my mom. I don’t remember what I answered, but after that, I never saw him again.” Sora paused a beat. “I think he’s in jail, though I’m not sure why.”

Riku looked at Sora, curious. “You don’t remember?”

Sora shook his head. “Nah, I think I was just too young to understand. I don’t really remember anything about him.”

Riku frowned. Sora hadn’t actually been that young when it happened; they’d already been in school. Had he blocked it out? Riku definitely remembered. Sora had frequently arrived at school with bruises, too many to be from general trips and falls like he always claimed; sometimes there had even been cuts and burns. Then Sora’s mom ended up in the hospital, and his dad had vanished—Riku wasn’t actually sure if the police ever found the guy. It had been a huge scandal in the small island town. “Maybe it’s best that you don’t remember,” Riku concluded.

“Huh? Wait, does that mean you know?! Riku, are you hiding things from me?”

“What? No! I wasn’t hiding it; I just didn’t realize you barely remember anything,” Riku defended. “Just, trust me when I say this thing with Donald is nowhere near the same degree as that, okay?”

Sora shifted slightly as he thought about that. “...Fine,” he finally decided, to Riku’s relief. He didn’t want another fight. “Anyway,” Sora continued, “So that’s what happened. That’s why I reacted so strongly; I remembered that, and panicked. I’ll answer your questions now,” he told Mickey tiredly.

Mickey, who had looked shocked at what had been implied, nodded as his expression returned to a more neutral one. “I appreciate your candidness,” he said. “I think I already have a pretty good understanding of what’s been going on, and can confidently say that you don’t have to be worried about Donald being arrested; this interview is more for formality purposes honestly. I’ve already decided that he’ll be suspended temporarily while he attends anger management classes, and then there will be a temporary ban on him travelling with anyone in a supervisory capacity until we are certain those have taken effect.”

“Supervisory capacity?” Sora asked, looking confused.

“It means he won’t be in charge of missions,” Riku explained (thank the gods).

“So… he’ll be considered on my and Kairi’s levels when making mission teams?”

“Yes, that’s the basic idea,” Mickey confirmed. He then took out a large notebook and pen from his magical pocket. “Now, why don't we get to the questions, hmm?”

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Sora sighed and rested his chin in his arms, which were crossed on top of the fancy white-clothed round table—tonight the kitchen had decided to resemble a fine dining establishment, complete with chandelier and wall lighting. Delicious-looking seafood dishes were set up buffet-style on tables along the sides, including extremely expensive things like king crab and lobster. There was even a case of incredibly mouthwatering intricate cakes.

“What’s up with you?” Lea asked, sitting across from Sora; Kairi, Riku, Aqua, and Goofy were there too, but no Donald or Mickey, and Yen Sid rarely ate with them. Oh, and Jiminy was there too, seated at a tiny little table of his own atop the fancy table instead of a regular place setting; the table itself was large enough to accommodate everyone there.

“All the food looks and smells so delicious,” Sora lamented (why couldn't it taste/smell like ash or something? So unfair!). “I wish I could eat it…” That was only part of it; he was also feeling put-out about the conversation with Mickey. When everything was laid out like that, even Sora had to admit that it actually had become a problem (Why hadn’t he realized it’d gotten so bad? It had been happening to him, for the gods’ sake!).

Goofy frowned. “Why can’t you—oh, right,” he said as Sora flashed his fangs at Goofy before he could finish the question.

Aqua looked at Goofy curiously. “You know, it’s strange to see you around without Donald or Mickey,” she commented. “Where are they?”

“Gawrsh, I actually don’t know,” Goofy said, looking a little worried, as though he hadn’t thought about that before. Sora wondered if Mickey had talked to him yet.

Sora sighed again. Mickey was probably talking to Donald about the so-called ‘abuse’ at the moment (why did he have to use that term? It really wasn’t the same at all! Not like—not like what? Sora scrunched his brow slightly, thinking, trying to remember. Was it about his dad? Had he not forgotten after all, rather blocked it out? In that case, should he even try to remember?)

“Sora? You okay?” Riku asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah. Just hungry,” Sora easily lied (although, Riku probably could tell it wasn't actually that, thanks to their link. Sora both loved and hated that link).

“Do you want something now?”

“What?” Lea proclaimed. “You are not feeding here! Not while we’re all eating!”

Riku blew a puff of air out his nose and rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean here. What do you take me for, some sort of exhibitionist?” the silverette joked.

“What’s an exhibitionist?” Kairi asked innocently, upon which Sora, Riku, and Lea collectively sighed, looking at each other to silently decide whose turn it was to explain it to Kairi (telling her it was a sexual term and leaving it at that would be fruitless as she would then undoubtedly unashamedly ask for the full definition regardless of awkwardness).

So instead, Sora leaned over and bit into Riku’s neck from behind, eliciting a gasp of surprise from the silverette even though it was barely a prick of the skin. Sora grinned and tried not to laugh as he looked over Riku’s shoulders to see everyone’s surprised expressions; laughing with his fangs lightly piercing flesh would probably drive them in enough to make things bloody, and Sora was only aiming for shock not horror.

Suddenly, to probably everyone’s relief, Sora’s GummiPhone rang. Everyone looked towards him curiously as he lifted his fangs away from Riku and pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered; understandable, as basically everyone who would call him was in the room, except… 

“Oh, good, you’re there,” Ienzo greeted. Riku leaned over and rested his chin adorably on Sora’s shoulder to see the image while everyone else just listened. 

Sora noted the scientist looking much happier than usual and beamed. “Hey! Looks like you have good news, huh?”

“Yes, indeed I do! The replica bodies are complete and the required data for the hearts to be moved to them has been programmed in! Now all that is needed are the hearts themselves!”

“So… this means you can revive Roxas and the others now?” Sora asked, his mood instantly lifted at the news.

“Indeed!” Ienzo seemed just as excited as Sora—and everyone else in the room. Then Ienzo frowned. “Well… actually, not all of them. We only have three fully ready; there was an, er, incident with the last one. But it ought to be resolved within a few weeks! I was thinking we could get Sora’s heart guests out first, then Kairi’s once that one is fixed, as it’d be easier to do one person at a time.”

“Actually, no need,” Sora realized. “We found out who one of the others in me is—and he has a body waiting! You can move a heart back into a real body, right?”

Ienzo blinked. “Well, yes; that ought to be easier, actually, providing the body itself is viable.”

Sora grinned. “Awesome! We’ll be there as soon as possible!” He couldn’t wait to meet Ventus, Roxas, and the mystery person (would it be a girl, as Kairi apparently suspected?).

"Wait," Aqua interjected. "Sora, you need to rest up first," she pointed out. 

"Yes, I must agree," Jiminy corroborated with the bluenette. "You only just returned from quite the ordeal."

"An ordeal?" Ienzo asked curiously.

Sora sighed. He didn't argue; Aqua and Jiminy were right (loathe as Sora was to admit any weakness). "Yeah, I went into that vampiric rage-form again," he admitted. "It was bad, and I guess I am pretty tired."

"I see; that would explain the gold eyes," Ienzo commented. "Well, in that case, do rest up. It is preferred that you be in peak health before the transfer, just as a cautionary measure."

"I'll retrieve Ven's body in the meantime," Aqua decided. "We'll be there in… hmm." She looked around the table. "Does three days sound good to everyone?"

Everyone expressed their agreement as Ienzo concluded the call with, "Perfect. I will see you then."

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Xehanort peered around the stone pillars in the Keyblade Graveyard, the Organization's designated meeting place. Atop all but three columns sat the members of the Real Organization Thirteen: Xemnas, Ansem, Xigbar, Xehanort’s old self possessing Terra, Xehanort’s teenage self, Luxord, Demyx, Marluxia, Saix, Vexen. All that were left were the Riku replica (whom honestly Xehanort had now given up on finding, resigned to him most likely being dead), Vanitas, and… 

“So, pops, what’s with the earlier-than-usual gathering?” Larxene asked in a drawl as she arrived, late as usual. Perfect; that was everyone.

Xehanort resisted rolling his eyes (he had to maintain an outwardly imposing ability, and doing such would not be conducive to that. It was childish).

His teenage self, however, had no trouble rolling his eyes. “Oh, I dunno, maybe it’s related to how one more of our members appears to be missing?”

“Hey, he could just be late, like you were,” Demyx suggested.

“It’s not my fault there was a line at the cafe.” Teenage Xehanort took a sip of his bubble tea (Xehanort was admittedly a little jealous; it looked pretty good); he’d arrived only moments before Larxene… who also seemed to have a café drink. Maybe Xehanort should ban bringing drinks to meetings (not that either of those two would actually listen if he tried to).

“Quiet you three,” Xehanort told them. He got straight to business. “This does, in fact, have to do with Vanitas’s absence. His whereabouts are currently unknown; considering his state when he last made an appearance, I believe it to be imperative we search for him. His defeat may have taken a larger toll on him than we previously thought. As we have already lost one vessel, we cannot afford to lose another.”

“So you do believe the replica was defeated?” Saix confirmed.

Xehanort nodded gravely. “Unfortunately, yes. There is no other explanation for why there has been no sign of him for so long.”

“So then what are we going to do about his spot?” Demyx wondered. “Does that mean I’ll get it?” He was a reserve member.

“No. We are going to attempt to capture the one who would have been the thirteenth if our plans had not been thwarted in the Realm of Sleep.”

“You refer to Sora?” Xemnas confirmed.

Marluxia sighed. “Seriously? What is your obsession with him?”

“The same could be said of you,” Terra-Xehanort replied. “After all, the entire debacle at Castle Oblivion was your fault.”

“Touché.”

“Enough,” Xehanort said. “Our number one priority is finding Vanitas. The majority of you are to pause your current missions to search for him. Demyx, you will go capture Sora along with Larxene.”

“Me? Why me?!” Demyx complained.  
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” Larxene whined simultaneously.

“Demyx, you failed to do anything when you encountered Sora and Riku in the Realm of Darkness. Consider it punishment for that.”

“What? But I didn’t know it was them!” Demyx protested. “Seriously, the kid had golden eyes; anyone would have mistaken him!”

Xehanort frowned. Again with the golden eyes. Could the Hero of Light have been tainted with darkness somehow, without Xehanort’s interference? Well, then; that only made it more imperative he be captured, as it meant he could more easily be made a vessel to replace the replica. Oh, there was also one more thing… “Vexen, how is No.i coming along?”

Vexen cringed. “Er. There is actually an issue with that; as of earlier today, the heart’s data seems to be absent.”

“Absent? What do you mean by that?” Xehanort forcefully demanded.

“Exactly what I said; it simply is not there. Reconstructing the previously corrupt data had been going extremely well up until that point, but if it’s completely gone… well, then, nothing can be done. It is a failure.”

“A failure? I will not stand for that! How would it be possible for it to vanish? Has someone sabotaged it?”

“Well, no, I do not believe it to be intentional sabotage,” Vexen explained nervously. “The only reason I can see for the data vanishing so completely is if the heart has already been reconstructed… by someone else.”

“You mean, by the Guardians of Light,” Xehanort clarified.

“Well, yes, that is the logical conclusion,” Vexen confirmed.

Xehanort stood quietly for a moment, trying his damndest to not show how pissed he was at that (the Lights were going completely off script! What right did they have?! All his meticulous planning…). He took a deep breath. There was no reason to get emotional; this could be remedied. “This is highly inconvenient, but it is overcomable,” Xehanort told them. “However, first we must focus on finding Vanitas and capturing Sora.” If the Lights dared to steal one of his Darknesses, he would take one of theirs. A fair exchange.

**Author's Note:**

> Next up:   
> Roxas, Xion, Ventus, and Naminé are finally released from Sora and Kairi's hearts! How will Sora's vampire status affect them, if at all?
> 
> I'll probably have the next entry in the series posted around the end of the month (and I promise it'll be more exciting than this one!).


End file.
